


crush culture

by sebsap



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Arguing, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Getting Together, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) Friendship, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Panic Attacks, Rated Teen+ because they Swear, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Tags Are Hard, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vaguely Set in Season 2, kind of, no major spoilers, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebsap/pseuds/sebsap
Summary: "It’s not my fault you wanna kiss me so bad!” He hasn’t seemed to realize exactly what he said, or the effect it’s having on Keith.Keith tries to speak, tries to call Lance childish, but nothing comes out.He knows Lance is kidding. But, if Keith is being honest with himself, Lance is right. Keith does want to kiss him. Really bad. So, he does.
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 198





	crush culture

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work in the Voltron fandom. This is actually the first fic I've finished in over a year, so take it with a grain of salt! Feel free to point out any mistakes.
> 
> I have a few more episode left in season 8 of Voltron, and this idea hit me after I saw a tweet that said someone said the "ooh, you wanna kiss me so bad" to someone in an argument and the person actually kissed them. So, naturally, I wrote this all in one go even though I haven't finished anything in forever. Sorry if they're out of character!
> 
> Anyways, there is a bit of a trigger warning for this. Keith has a mild panic attack, so if you want to skip that, just look for the "~", I'll put one right before the scene and when it ends.
> 
> I wrote this all in one go, and finished it at like 5 am. So I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title comes from "Crush Culture" by Conan Gray. 
> 
> P.S.  
> Don't repost this anywhere else! You do not have my permission! You may share the link, and give credit.

They’re arguing. Again.

They had been doing so well lately, Keith thought. But, well, good things don’t last, he supposes. Keith is honestly kind of tired of it. Really tired of it, actually. It isn’t even his fault, this time; it hadn’t been in a while. Fighting with Lance quickly became his least favorite thing to do when he figured out that all he _really_ wanted to do with Lance was… well, the exact opposite of fighting. He wanted to be able to have civil conversations with Lance that lasted longer than, like, two minutes. He wanted to get to know Lance through those conversations. Of course, Keith isn’t the _best_ conversationalist, but things just come naturally when he’s with Lance. Well, when Lance decides to be nice for once. 

Anyways, he wants to be able to just exist in peace with Lance. And, well, maybe he’d like to be a bit closer to him, too. Not just emotionally, but physically, too. Maybe.

See, Lance likes to touch everyone else _but_ him. And, obviously, it’s because Lance still thinks he’s some sort of rival, or whatever, but it _bothers_ Keith. Lance always claps Pidge on the shoulder--to their dismay--after a good battle, the ones where they escape victors and mostly unharmed. Lance is constantly hanging off of Hunk, and, like, Keith gets it. They’re best friends, and they have been for a while. But would it really hurt Lance to even fist-bump Keith?

He’s even affectionate with Shiro. They all love Shiro, yeah, but Keith knows for a fact that Lance has only just gotten over being constantly star-struck in Shiro’s presence. He’s watched Lance for long enough to know just about anything about him, and he certainly didn’t miss that. So, you’d think Lance would be a bit more hesitant, but, no. He’s definitely not.

But that’s off topic. Lance is yelling at him from across the common room, and all Keith wants to do is pull him close and wrap his own hands around Lance’s flailing ones. 

“Blue is _fine_ , thank you very much! You’re the one who shot Red straight into that debris, she’s probably all hurt and crying back in the hangar!”

They had just gotten back from a mission; nothing too big or life-threatening. Well, that’s what it was meant to be, at least. A small fleet of Galra had appeared out of nowhere while they were dropping off some refugees at a safe point. They made quick work of it, protecting the civilians and taking down the Galra without really breaking a sweat. And, well, Lance was right; Keith did run into some debris. But he knows that Red is fine, because she’s the one who flew straight through it in order to quickly destroy a ship that was heading for the planet.

So, you can’t blame him for getting a little riled up. Even if he just wants to hug Lance to shut him up, or something. “Why can’t you just be quiet? The lions are fine. They’re made out of one of the strongest materials in the universe, if you hadn’t noticed.” 

His voice is flat, emotionless, as it usually is lately when he’s having a genuine argument with Lance. He can acknowledge that that’s probably what makes Lance even angrier. Honestly, though? Keith’s not even sure why he’s even this angry in the first place.

“You don’t know that! You don’t know anything. Probably because you’re always diving head-first into things, and losing a bunch of brain cells being an impulsive idiot!”

Keith knows that there’s gotta be something good to take out of that, like Lance seemingly caring about him, but all he can focus on is Lance calling him an idiot. It kind of hurts.

“Shut up! You’re the one who runs his mouth and can’t butt out even if it’s what’s good for him. I hope it bites you in the ass one day.”

Lance’s face scrunches up further and he takes a few steps toward Keith. Keith’s brain locks onto the sound of his footsteps against the floor of the castle. Lance is all he can focus on; he’s overly aware of every move Lance makes, and entirely unaware of everything else around them. He’s pretty sure the others aren’t in the room, or else the argument wouldn't have even gotten this far. 

“Why are you such an asshole, man?” He pauses, his face pulling into a sour look, seeming almost genuinely hurt. It’s gone almost as quick as it appeared, though, his anger flaring up again at the blank look on Keith’s face. “I wish we didn’t even have to work together! You’re such a hardass, I can’t do anything without you blowing up on me!”

Keith lets out a humorless laugh, his own temper rearing its ugly head. Forget about his feelings; Lance obviously doesn’t feel the same, or care. “Me? I blow up on _you_ ? Says the one all up in my face! Did anyone ever teach you about _personal space_ , Lance?” 

Keith’s fists clench at his side as he glares at Lance, who is only a few inches away from him. They’re a lot closer than Keith had thought. He can feel Lance’s angry huffs on his face. They make his bangs flutter, and Keith hopes that Lance thinks the flush on his cheeks is due to anger. Or from the leftover adrenaline due to battle. 

Keith can, again, admit to some of his own… flaws. He knows he’s not helping the argument simmer down. He knows that the adrenaline that’s probably running through Lance’s veins, too, is probably making him even more intense, and that Keith himself should just stand down. Lance sure as hell isn’t going to. 

He _definitely_ knows that the condescending tone he just used on Lance might turn this argument into a fist fight. They haven’t ever gotten to that point, but who knows. Maybe today’s the day. 

Lance practically growls at him, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish as his head rears back. He must’ve also realized how close they’ve gotten, Keith thinks briefly. Lance’s cheeks flush a deeper red, but Keith isn’t sure if it’s from anger or not. 

“What- whatever! It’s not my fault you wanna kiss me so bad!” Lance’s tone is angry, yes, but he also just sounds like a petulant child who has run out of remarks. He hasn’t seemed to realize exactly what he said, or the effect it’s having on Keith. 

“What?” Keith barks out, voice falling a little flat but still practically reverberating throughout the room because of how loud it was. His cheeks feel even hotter than they did a few seconds ago, and he finds his anger draining at the embarrassment he feels. 

Lance lets out a laugh that might be a bit crazed. “See! Oh, you- you wanna kiss me so bad!” His voice aims for mocking, but just ends up being an odd mix of panic and anger. 

Keith tries to speak, tries to call Lance childish, but nothing comes out. He just stutters, choking on his words. You see, he knows Lance is kidding. That much is obvious. Lance ran out of comebacks, and resorted to being immature. But, if Keith is being honest with himself, Lance is right. Keith does want to kiss him. Really bad. So, he does.

A noise escapes his throat that might be a growl, but it’s cut off as he swiftly reaches up the couple inches Lance has on him to grab at Lance’s face. His still gloved hands grip at Lance’s flushed cheeks, and he yanks his face down to meet his own. Their teeth clack as their lips meet harshly, but Keith pulls back ever-so-slightly and the kiss becomes soft, almost.

Neither of them move for a few seconds. Then, Keith shifts a little, realizing exactly what he just did. His head tilts slightly, and the kiss feels more natural for a second before Keith reels back, stumbling away a few feet. His hands, his lips, and his whole body, really, feel like they’re on fire. He kind of feels like he threw himself into a volcano. It’s a great feat to resist the temptation to touch his fingertips to his own lips.

Lance is gaping at him. The anger has drained away from his face, from his posture. His cheeks are still on fire, though, and Keith can’t make eye contact with him. He can’t even look at him, or in his direction. His eyes dart everywhere, briefly looking at the planet through the giant windows behind Lance. It doesn’t even register. His heart is beating so fast, so hard, that Keith is sure it’s just going to give out on him.

“I- I didn’t…” Keith rushes out, stepping back even further. He’s almost to the hallway, just a couple more feet--then, he can run and never look back. He’ll have to avoid Lance for… well, forever, but Keith is fine with that. They can all deal without him, right?

“Keith…” Lance tries, his voice just above a whisper. 

Keith yelps as if Lance had suddenly screamed, instead of just speaking softly like he did. Keith stumbles into the hallway backward, still facing Lance and finally managing to look into his face. Lance looks… Keith can’t tell. Keith can’t tell what Lance is thinking.

“No! No, I don’t- I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t do that. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Keith sounds frantic even to his own ears. 

“Keith-” Lance tries again, but Keith doesn’t hear him. He sees Lance’s mouth open, and just turns around and darts down the hallway. 

Lance doesn’t follow him.

**********

If Keith thinks about it some more, it’s actually kind of funny. Well, it would be if he hadn’t been stuck in a constant state of panic ever since he kissed Lance.

He kissed Lance. He’s still struggling with that. He’s thought it over a lot. Like, _a lot_ . It’s run through his mind on repeat since it happened, and he still can’t figure out why he did it. Sure, he wanted to, but that doesn’t mean he _should’ve_. And, yeah, he’s not exactly known for having the best impulse control. You definitely won’t be finding a picture of him in the dictionary under the words “self-control.”

But, well, he thought that was the _one_ thing he had a good grip on. No revealing his feelings to Lance, and all that. It was something he thought about frequently.

That’s all down the drain, now, though. Surely Lance hated him. Keith was usually so good at reading him, and knowing what to do in any Lance-type situation but…

He had no idea what Lance was thinking, how he felt. His face, when Keith had looked at him before he practically flew away, was basically blank. Keith had been too far away to read the look in his eyes, if there even was one. They were probably just as blank as his expression. 

The sound of the wheels of his desk chair on the floor are the only thing accompanying his thoughts. His foot is hooked around the leg of his desk as he pushes away from it, and then pulls himself back in on repeat. The only light in the room is the small lamp on his desk, and his fingers are tapping a senseless rhythm onto his jeans. His heart is still in overdrive. 

Keith has never been more anxious in his life. Sure, he’s faced death multiple times. Stared it in the face, even. He’d just recently been in the stomach of a Weblum. Which, gross and entirely anxiety-inducing, thanks.

He’s disappointed Shiro more times than he can count, he grew up anti-social and without any real close friends, yet he thinks this might be one of the worst moments of his life. His social life, at the very least. His relationship with Lance had been getting better as of late, forgoing a few moments similar to today, but he had just ruined it. Their growing friendship had just crashed and burned, Keith is sure of it. Lance has probably told Hunk, who probably told Pidge, who honestly might now tell Shiro. Then Coran and Allura will hear about it, and everyone will be mad at him for ruining everything. How did he mess up so bad?

There’s a knock at his door. He freezes in the middle of pushing away from the desk, legs tensing up around the desk’s limb. His eye’s freeze on a point on the wall in front of him as he listens for whoever is on the other side of the door behind him.

“Keith? Are you in there?”

It’s Shiro. Keith lets out a sigh of relief, his whole body releasing its tension. As he’s standing from the chair, he realizes that Shiro might be here to lecture him. What if Lance told him? He’s starting to spiral again when Shiro speaks up after getting no response.

“You weren’t at dinner, are you okay? I brought you something to eat.”

Keith crosses the small room in a few steps, warily tapping the button to open the door. It slides open with a swish, and Shiro is there, holding a disappointing bowl of food goo. Not that Keith was expecting anything else. He’s just glad Lance isn’t with him, prepared to punch him in the face like he’s probably going to next time he sees Keith. Which is something Keith is going to try his best to avoid. Keith is fairly certain he’ll succeed; it’s a big ship, afterall, with plenty of places to hide. They don’t have anything planned for the next few days, anyway. 

He shakes his head as if trying to get himself out of a trance, realizing that he’s just been staring at Shiro silently for a few too-long seconds. “Hey, sorry. Just wasn’t feeling great. Thanks.”

Shiro’s eyebrows furrow, and he steps into the room when Keith steps aside to make space for him. Shiro heads over to the desk and sets the bowl down before turning to face Keith, crossing his arms as he leans against said desk. 

“Yeah, no problem. Lance must’ve caught the same bug you did. He didn’t show up to dinner either.” 

There’s something like suspicion in Shiro’s voice, but he doesn’t really seem to know anything. Keith purses his lips, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. His body is facing Shiro, but he’s staring very intently at the floor. It’s… pretty interesting, Keith supposes. Better than this conversation.

“Know anything about that?”

Keith’s head snaps up too quickly to be casual. He makes eye contact with Shiro, whose eyebrows are raised, before his eyes dart to somewhere over his shoulder. “What? No. He’s probably just tired, you know how he is. Says he needs his beauty sleep, and all. He eats early sometimes, doesn’t he?”

He shuffles his feet, wincing slightly as he forces himself to stop speaking. Keith knows he’s rambling, and he knows it’s really suspicious. Damn Hunk and his bad lying skills for rubbing off on Keith. 

It’s silent. Keith’s gaze falls back to the floor, and he resists the urge to fidget. He can feel Shiro’s contemplative gaze on him, and he’d rather this be over as quickly as possible. Preferably without Shiro realizing that something is up, although that’s probably impossible by now.

“Are you sure everything is alright, Keith? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Shiro sounds genuinely concerned, and it makes Keith feel worse.

He looks up, offering Shiro a small but genuine smile. With how bad this day went, being reminded that Shiro cares about him makes him feel a little bit better. “Yeah, I know. Thanks. I’m just… dealing with something. But it’s okay, I have it figured out.”

He doesn’t, and he’s sure Shiro can tell, but Shiro drops it. “Okay,” He pauses, frowning slightly at Keith before nodding. “Okay, just know I’m here.”

Keith gives Shiro a wobbly smile, desperately trying to steady his emotions before he breaks down in front of Shiro. There’s some more silence for a bit, not exactly awkward but more like… hovering. Like Shiro is waiting for something else. Keith isn’t sure what, and doesn’t get the chance to figure it out before Shiro moves. 

He turns around to grab the bowl off of the desk, before turning back to offer it to Keith. “Y’know what? How about we go borrow a movie from Coran’s collection?”

Keith breathes out a sigh of relief, taking the bowl from Shiro’s prosthetic hand. He huffs out a laugh, shoulders finally relaxing even though he didn’t realize they were tense in the first place. 

“Sure, yeah. Sounds nice.”

Shiro grins at him, walking past him to the door, only pausing to clap Keith on the shoulder. He levels him with a searching look, before he nods after apparently finding what he was looking for and quickly moves on. 

“Let’s go, then.”

**********

There weren’t a lot of movies to choose from. They didn’t even end up actually choosing one, anyway; Pidge did. They were, for some reason, hanging out with Coran when Shiro and Keith appeared to inquire about the films. When they found out that Keith and Shiro were going to watch something, they took it upon themselves to choose an “actually good” movie and declared that they were going to watch it with them. Said something about how it was getting boring around the castle--which Coran was mildly offended by, seeing how he was literally trying to entertain Pidge prior to this statement. 

Anyways, somehow word had gotten around the castle that the three of them were going to watch a movie. Which, well, isn’t all that surprising when you consider the fact that there’s only seven people on the ship, along with four mice and a cow. So, now the majority of the habitants of the Castle of Lions were lounging in one of the rooms with an Altean TV--minus Hunk, Lance, and the cow. 

Keith feels kind of guilty to say that he’s relieved that Lance isn’t there. It’d probably be fine if he was, seeing as they have an audience and can’t exactly cause a scene in front of everyone. However, Keith gets the feeling that it’s just best that he isn’t.

The others notice, though. Of course they do. Lance is a presence to be missed, Keith thinks with a frown.

“Has anyone seen Lance? He’d probably be thrilled to finally get to watch a movie. We haven’t done this in a while,” Pidge says, looking around at the occupants of the room, eyes moving like they’re doing a headcount. 

“He didn’t show up to dinner,” Shiro notes with a frown, reminding Keith of only a little bit earlier when he had shown up at his door.

Keith avoids everyone's eyes as he speaks, “I’m sure he’s just asleep. You know how he is.” 

His tone is vaguely flippant, trying to move on from this subject as quick as possible. He finally looks up to see a few nods of agreement, some non-committal shrugs. His bangs flutter as he lets out a sigh of relief, sending a pang to his heart as it reminds him of right before he had kissed Lance.

“Hunk isn’t here either,” Allura adds with a frown, but it seems more like a general statement than a continuation of the topic. 

“They’re probably having a sleepover and sharing gossip,” Pidge teases, snickering as they fiddle with the TV. Coran comes over to help them, noticing their mild confusion at the weird buttons. They bat his hands away, mumbling something about how they’ll figure it out. Coran bristles for a split second before breaking out into a grin at their persistence. 

Keith pulls his best poker face, trying not to look sour at how close to home that hit. He’s sure Lance has already told Hunk about what happened. Pidge was joking, but Keith is sure that they’re right, to some degree. 

“Well, I guess we’ll have to do this more often, then. So they don’t entirely miss out,” Shiro says with a grin, and everyone can’t help but grin back. Keith feels himself soften, finally starting to relax. It’ll be fine.

“Who says we’re missing out?”

Or not.

Lance’s voice comes from behind Keith, and he has to resist the urge to whip around and gape. Instead, he just tenses up and wills his ears not to turn red. He can hear the grin in Lance’s voice, so he must not have spotted Keith yet. Keith refuses to turn and find out. He can’t believe he didn’t hear the door open.

Coran whoops happily as Hunk and Lance come into Keith’s peripheral vision, rounding the couch to sit on the loveseat closest to Keith. They’re only about two feet away, if that. Keith is shoved into the corner of the big sofa, Shiro next to him. Pidge settles onto the floor on Shiro’s other side in front of the couch as Hunk and Lance sit down. Keith still refuses to look at them. He focuses on where Allura is curled up in the other corner of the couch, smiling fondly at the duo on the loveseat as conversation starts up. Keith doesn’t pay it any attention, his ears ringing as he moves his attention to how Coran flops into the armchair across from the loveseat. He’s barely aware of it, even as he stares.

He’s jerked out of his panic when he hears squeaking. He moves his attention to the coffee table in front of him, where the four mice are sitting, staring at him. He can see Lance’s legs out of the corner of his eye. Why’d he have to sit so close? Keith’s chest clenches.

The mice keep squeaking at him, and he scowls at them when they make some very obvious gestures to Lance, as if to say “Here he is! We got him for you! You’re welcome!”

Keith doesn’t feel like thanking them.

“Alright!” Allura claps happily, grinning at the startup screen of the movie on the TV. It’s some Altean movie, Keith thinks. “Let’s start!”

“Wait!” Hunk cuts in, and they all look at him in confusion. Keith’s gaze slides carefully to him, ignoring Lance who is _._ Right. There. Lance is very obviously staring at Keith, even though Hunk was the one who spoke. Keith admits that it’s a little immature for him to be ignoring Lance, but… he’s scared. That’s been established.

“What about snacks? I want snacks. Do you want snacks, Lance? I bet you want snacks.” There’s something very deliberate in Hunk’s voice, but Keith doesn’t notice it because he sees an out in Hunk’s words. 

“I’ll get them!” He practically shouts, standing up abruptly. Everyone stares at him in shock. Keith doesn’t pay them any attention, desperate to get out of the room, to get away from Lance. His heart feels like it’s about to beat out of his chest. “Yeah? Yeah, I’ll go get them. Be back in a sec.”

“Keith-” Shiro sounds confused, worried. Keith ignores him, turning toward the space between the sofa and the loveseat so he can head toward the door behind the couch. His breath hitches when he makes brief eye contact with Lance, and it just makes him hurry even faster toward the door. He’s got his hand reaching toward the button when Lance speaks up.

“I’ll go with him! He can’t carry all those snacks on his own, you know how much Pidge likes their snacks,” Keith is pretty sure his heart stops, along with his footsteps. His shoes squeak on the ground, but no one is paying any attention to him.

“Hey!” Pidge shouts indignantly, but Lance just sends them a grin before making his way over to Keith. Keith can see him out of the corner of his eye, so he presses the button and rushes out of the room as soon as the door swishes open. He would try to protest, but he doesn’t think his voice could work well enough for that. 

His footsteps sound loud as he speed walks down the hall, already about to turn the corner when he hears Lance shout after him. “Hey, wait up! I was being serious, you can’t carry all those snacks by yourself! Keith, slow down!”

**~**

He doesn’t slow down. His breathing is coming fast and heavy, and panic is welling up inside him. His eyes feel wet as he turns the corner, and he prepares to start sprinting. At this point, he’s decided to skip out on movie night. He’s a couple yards down the hall when he hears Lance round the corner as well, jogging his way. Keith starts to break out into a run, but is yanked backward by Lance’s hand around his wrist. 

“You can’t keep running from me,” Lance sounds out of breath, and Keith tries to let out a humorless laugh, but all that comes out is a garbled noise of panic. He’s still turned away from Lance, who is gripping his arm like his life depends on it. “Keith, look at me.”

Keith can’t look at Lance, because he’s afraid that if he does, he’ll start crying. And he doesn’t want to cry in front of Lance. He thought he’d be okay, but now that he’s faced with Lance, he’s convinced that the world is ending. He doesn’t know when this situation--which was his fault in the first place--transformed from something mildly horrifying and maybe even kind of amusing to something that makes him want to launch himself out of the airlock. 

His breath is coming out of his nose loudly, and his lips are pressed so tightly together that it kind of hurts. 

“Hey, Keith? Keith, buddy. Breathe for me.” Keith finally looks at Lance, his gaze frantic. They make eye contact, and Lance smiles softly at him, expression tinged with worry. “You hear me? Let’s breathe, okay?”

Keith realizes he’s hyperventilating, and that his hands are shaking when Lance finally lets go of his wrist. He can’t think straight, so he focuses on Lance’s voice. 

“C’mon, let’s sit down.” Lance guides him over to the wall, and Keith slumps against it, sliding down into a sitting position. He brings his knees up and lets his arms fall limply to his sides. Lance is still smiling softly at him. Keith thinks he’s pretty.

Lance kneels in front of him, and he’s all Keith can see. They make eye contact. “In and out, okay? Breathe with me, can you do that?” 

Keith just kind of stares for a few seconds, or maybe it’s a few minutes, he can’t tell. But he focuses on Lance and starts to do as he’s told. In and out. In and out.  
**~**

Eventually, his breathing is mostly normal. He decides to drop his head between his legs, his arms on either side of his head and hanging limply over his knees. “Thanks. Sorry.”

He firmly ignores his feelings, and everything that's happened. Just lets himself feel grateful for Lance.

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry I made you panic like that. That was my fault, wasn’t it?” Lance’s voice is soft, guilty. Keith looks up at him, gathering his arms up so he can rest his chin on his forearms. 

“No, it wasn’t your fault. Not really. I just thought too hard about it and freaked myself out,” Keith offers him a small, sheepish smile, only one corner of his mouth twitching up. 

They stare at each other in silence. Keith can tell Lance is studying his whole face, his expression, but all Keith can do is admire Lance’s eyes. He’s always thought they were beautiful, even before he had realized he wanted to do everything but fight with Lance. Before he realized he would like to hug Lance, to kiss Lance. Before he actually kissed Lance. 

The fingers of his right hand tap on his left knee as he gets lost in Lance’s eyes, so to speak. He figures he couldn’t have messed up that badly if Lance is still here. Staring at him. Speaking of-

He opens his mouth to say something, to break the silence. To ask Lance why he’s still here. To say anything, really.

There isn’t a chance to get anything out, though, because Lance is suddenly cradling his jaw in his hands and leaning forward to press a light kiss to Keith’s lips.

It’s gentle. It’s so, so gentle and Keith practically melts into it. He melts into Lance’s soft hands on his face and melts into the lips pressing against his own. Lance tilts his own head slightly, and it has them both pressing even closer to each other. The kiss is just a mere press of lips, and really only lasts a couple of seconds, but Keith feels like he has all he needs, now. 

Lance leans back first, seeing as Keith doesn’t really have anywhere to go unless he wants to bang his head on the wall behind him. 

“You didn’t let me do that earlier,” Lance whispers, as if he’s afraid to break the moment by speaking any louder. Keith’s chest feels warm. Lance is still holding his face like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever held. Like Keith is the most precious thing he’s ever had. And, honestly, Lance _does_ have him. He always has.

“I-” Keith starts, blinking at Lance. “What?” He whispers.

Lance lets go of his face, laughing quietly. He shuffles around so he’s sitting beside Keith, both of their backs pressed against the wall. Their shoulders are pressed together, too. Their fingers brush as Keith absent-mindedly lets his hands fall to his side as he straightens up. 

“You ran away so fast earlier, man. You surprised me, is all. I wasn’t trying to make you panic, just thought I’d give you time to cool down,” Lance leans his head against the wall, tilted in Keith’s direction so he can grin crookedly at him. 

“So…” Keith trails off, staring at the wall across from them before turning slightly to look Lance in the eye. “So, that means…” 

Lance lets out a loud laugh, surprising Keith in the quiet hallway. “I like you, Keith. I really like you,” Lance says softly. Keith can only stare at him fondly. He knows he’s usually not so obvious about his feelings, but he’s feeling kind of dazed. But that just might be the fatigue setting in after the… chaotic day.

“I like you, too.” Keith whispers, a childlike happiness making its way into his voice. He clears his throat to chase it away. Lance just laughs at him, and he easily snatches up Keith’s hand to intertwine their fingers. 

“Next time, don’t run away from me. Let me respond first, maybe?” Lance sounds like he’s trying to be scolding, but the goofy grin on his face gives him away. Keith feels like burying his face into Lance’s neck and staying there forever. 

“I don’t think there will be a next time, dork. Usually confessions are a one time thing.” Keith rolls his eyes playfully, starting to feel less tired and more like himself as the realization of what just happened settles in. 

Keith doesn’t think he could ever get tired of Lance’s laugh. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

They sit in silence for a while, leaning against each other comfortably. Keith doesn’t want to break the silence, but the others are probably going to come looking for them sooner or later.

He, again, doesn’t get the chance to say anything before Lance is speaking up. “I can’t believe you actually kissed me when I was just trying to piss you off, earlier.” 

Keith groans, and Lance cackles next to him. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” 

“Nope!” Lance cackles louder when Keith groans again, throwing his head back lightly against the wall. 

Lance’s giggles die down, and they sit in more comfortable silence. Lance snuggles further against Keith, and Keith tries to bite down a grin. He’s not very successful. 

“So, are we…” Keith trails off, staring at the floor even as he feels Lance’s gaze on him.

“Are we… what?” Lance teases, probably aiming for genuinely confused but Keith can _hear_ the smirk in his voice without even having to look at him from the corner of his eye. 

Keith huffs, straightening his shoulders and making eye contact with Lance. “Are we dating, now?” 

Lance snickers, making Keith pout--not that he would word it like that. “I don’t know, Keith. Will you be my boyfriend?”

Keith’s eyes widen, his mouth dropping open slightly before he clears his throat, blurting out, “yes, yes, yeah. I mean, sure.”

Keith can tell Lance wants to tease him for stumbling over his words, but Lance was more nervous than he was letting on. His shoulders drop in relief, and he gives Keith an elated grin. 

“Alright, cool.”

“Nice.”

“Yup, cool, cool.”

“Right.”

“Uhuh.”

“We should… probably get back to the others.” Keith smiles softly at Lance.

Lance nods rapidly, jumping to his feet. He doesn’t let go of Keith’s hand on time, so Keith gets a little yanked. Lance offers him an apologetic look as he brushes off his jeans. Lance offers him a hand, and pulls Keith up when he takes it. Neither of them let go, even as they start to make their way down the hallway.

“We forgot the snacks!” Lance blurts when they round the corner.

Keith furrows his eyebrows at him, mildly amused. “It’s fine, Lance. I’m sure they survived without them. We can go back if they ask us to.”

Lance sighs, and then shoots him a big grin. “Alright, whatever you say, boyfriend.” 

Keith flushes, turning his head away from Lance. It makes him miss the fond look Lance gives him as he chuckles.

“Shut up,” Keith mumbles, even as he tugs Lance closer. 

His whole body feels like it’s on fire, but this time, it’s okay. Lance is at his side, where he belongs. They can burn together. The world won’t even see it coming.

(Although, their friends definitely did.)

**********

(“Hey, did anyone else notice that Keith and Lance still haven’t come back?”

A scoff. “You may not have noticed, but I did. When I went to go get the snacks after they took forever, I saw them kissing in the hall. I had to take another route.” Pidge sounds grossed out, but they’re grinning.

Allura gasps delightedly, and Coran starts clapping. Hunk makes a face, but it dissolves into a happy grin. Shiro looks proud.  
  


When Lance and Keith walk in merely minutes later holding hands, everyone cheers.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Again, sorry if they're a bit out of character! Keith probably is, but I also just generally have this headcanon that he's, like, really dramatic. It's kind of canon, actually. I know he's also kinda socially awkward, but we all know he and the paladins are close, so. I just think he's super dramatic and edgy when he wants to be.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated. Have an amazing day! If you're reading this, I'm super grateful you made it this far.
> 
> (If you absolutely want to or need to contact me, my twitter is currently @srsloga but it’s not a stan account, just more personal :))


End file.
